U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today issued the following statement on President Biden’s judicial nominee Anthony Johnstone to the United States Circuit Court for the Ninth Circuit.
“Every federal judge in Montana has been chosen by a Democrat president and has repeatedly crushed our Montana way of life. After review of his record and judicial philosophy, I’m concerned that Anthony Johnstone would likely be no different. His record of undermining the Second Amendment and supporting President Biden’s reckless southern border policies are deeply concerning and pose a threat to our Montana values,” Daines said. “Montana’s lone seat on the Ninth Circuit should be held by someone that better reflects where our state has shifted over the past 10 years, not by someone who supports Biden’s irresponsible agenda. I shared with Senator Tester and the President my recommendations of qualified candidates who would not legislate from the bench, but unfortunately they chose to go in a different direction.”
Montana gets one seat on the Ninth Circuit Court, which is the largest circuit court with 29 active judges.
Johnstone came out in support of President Biden’s border policies that have led to an unprecedented two million border apprehensions this year as well as the uptick in drugs in Montana communities.
In an interview about a Second Amendment case in the Ninth Circuit, Johnstone spoke favorably of the extreme, anti-Second Amendment opinion that essentially wrote the right to “bear arms” out of the Constitution.
Contact: Rachel Dumke, Blake Kernen